XIII 
GINGER 
401 
In the Punjab the leaves are laid over the beds and 
the manure is laid on the top of them, so that under 
the influence of the heavy rains of the wet season it 
gradually soaks in. 
The system of mulching with dead leaves, cut grass, 
etc., might be practised more largely for all crops in 
the East than it is, but it is desirable to bury the mulch 
with a little soil, as less of the products of decay are 
lost. It is not always possible, however, to obtain 
leaves and other vegetable debris to get a good, suitable 
mulch. 
The Chinese in the Straits Settlements use only 
cow-dung for manure, and this they dig into the ground 
before planting. Oil-cake and other high-class manures 
are not within their reach. Horse-dung is rarely used 
here in any cultivation, unless it has been rotted for 
some years, as it is considered too hot, but old, well- 
decomposed stable manure, especially when mixed with 
cow-dung, is very suitable for all cultivations of this 
type. 
PREPARATION OF THE SPICE 
There are two forms in which ginger is usually 
prepared for the market, viz. dried ori cured ginger and 
preserved or green ginger. In the West Indies and 
India the spice is prepared as dry ginger, while China 
supplies the greater part, indeed practically all, of the 
preserved ginger. 
DRIED GINGER 
After the rhizomes are dug up they are cleaned of 
dirt and the roots cut away, and then are sometimes pre- 
pared for market by merely gradually seething or scald- 
ing them in hot water, after which they are spread out 
every day in the sun till they are sufficiently dry, and 
packed in parcels of 100 lbs. for the market. This is called 
Black Ginger. In scalding the rhizomes, a large pot 
or copper is fixed in the field or some convenient place, 
and kept full of boiling water. The ginger, cleaned of 
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